UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Raises Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,662 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,360,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Waste Management by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 607,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $122,521,000 after acquiring an additional 43,218 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $710,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 11,790 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Ipsen Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $687,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $227.80 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. CIBC upped their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.